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Mayte Michelle Rodriguez (born July 12, 1978), better known as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress, known for her role in the television series Lost and action films Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil and S.W.A.T.. In a karmic twist of fate, Michelle Rodriquez’s signature roles came in productions whose titles eerily sum up her Hollywood career. Between her striking debut in the female boxing movie “Girlfight” (2000), her turn as Vin Diesel’s gearhead girlfriend in the action film “The Fast and the Furious” (2001), and her role as a tough ex-cop on the hit TV series “Lost” (ABC, 2004- ), the titles mirrored her hardened personality and sometimes troubled personal life. She was a raw, talented actress who found the Byzantine maze of Hollywood almost as hard to navigate as the American legal system. Her various arrests for everything from assault to drunk driving temporarily sidetracked her promising career and landed her in jail, but her fighting spirit would not allow her to go down for the count. Rodriguez was born in Bexar County, Texas, the daughter of Carmen Milady (née Pared), a native of the Dominican Republic, and Rafael Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican who served in the US military. She has a total of ten half-siblings or siblings. She was raised by her devoutly religious maternal grandmother and was brought up in her mother's Jehovah's Witnesses religion.Rodriguez moved to the Dominican Republic with her mother when she was eight and lived in Puerto Rico when she was 11, later settling in Jersey City, New Jersey. She dropped out of high school at age 17 and later earned her GED. Her mother was from the Dominican Republic and a devout Jehovah’s Witness; her father was a Puerto Rican who had served in the military and fathered several children with other women. When the marriage broke up, Rodriguez left Texas and moved with her mother and two older twin brothers to the Dominican Republic when she was nine. Once there, she chafed under her mother’s strict religious beliefs, so joined her father in Puerto Rico when she was 11 years old. Rodriguez rebelled again, getting kicked out of several schools before finally joining her mother and brothers in Jersey City, NJ. Although a voracious reader and clearly intelligent, she hated high school and dropped out at age 15. It did not matter. She was going to get kicked out anyway. Having run across an ad for an open casting call and attending her first audition, Rodriguez read an ad in Backstage magazine, advertising for a hard, troubled Latina who could box. She knew immediately she didn’t need to act the part; she was the part. Rodriguez beat out other applicants to win the part of Diana Guzman in the low-budget independent film “Girlfight.” Although a complete unknown, the director, Karyn Kusama, saw in Rodriguez a toughness and attitude that could not be faked. Although she had never applied herself to school, Rodriguez embraced the physical challenges to get in shape for the role – which included four and a half months of intense training at the famous Gleason’s gym in Brooklyn. Her boxing skills were as convincing as her acting. Not only did Rodriguez win several prestigious acting awards, including an Independent Spirit Award and National Board of Review award, but she was also asked by a boxing promoter to turn pro. Rodriguez beat 350 other applicants to win her first role in the low-budget 2000 independent film, Girlfight. Rodriguez's performance as Diana Guzman, a troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer, was recognized by both critics and audiences, but despite major industry buzz of a possible Academy Award nomination, she did not receive the Oscar nod. Rodriguez did however accumulate several other significant awards and nominations for the role in independent circles, including major acting accolades from the National Board of Review, Deauville Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, Las Vegas Film Critics Sierra Awards, and many others. The film itself took home top prizes at both the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals. Subsequently, she has had notable roles in other successful movies, including S.W.A.T., The Fast and the Furious and Resident Evil. In 2002, she was ranked #77 in Stuff magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women In The World”, and #34 in Maxim’s "100 Sexiest Women". That same year, Rodriguez portrayed Eden in the surfer girlpower flick Blue Crush. Instead of pursuing a boxing career, she used the visibility that “Girlfight” gave her to break into the Hollywood mainstream, co-starring with Danny Glover in a Showtime made-for-TV drama called “3 A.M.” (2001). She then catapulted into her first big budget studio movie, “The Fast and the Furious.” The story – set in the underworld subculture of Los Angeles street racers – was not as critically acclaimed as “Girlfight,” but it made a killing at the box-office and established Rodriguez as a convincing female action hero. She followed up with yet another “tough-as-nails” character – Rain Ocampo, a soldier in body armor battling flesh-eating zombies in the feature video game adaptation “Resident Evil” (2002). Her physicality and natural beauty were next put to use in the female surfing flick “Blue Crush” (2002), which provided Rodriguez to visit Hawaii and wear a bikini while riding some big waves, but she was soon back to wearing body armor and shooting a big gun as an L.A. cop in the mega budget popcorn movie “S.W.A.T.” (2003). In 2004, Rodriguez lent her voice to the video game Halo 2, playing a Marine. She also provided the voice of Liz Ricarro in the Cartoon Network series IGPX. From 2005 to 2006, she played tough cop Ana Lucia Cortez on the television series Lost during the show's second season (the character's first appearance was a flashback on season 1's finale, Exodus: Part 1). In 2006, Rodriguez was featured in her own episode of G4's show Icons. While Rodriguez’s film career seemed to go on probation right along with her, she found work as a voice actor in several popular video games. Fans who loved her work in violent, adrenaline-fueled movies now got their fix as she lent her Latina accent to “True Crime: Streets of LA” (2003), “Driv3r” (2004), and “Halo 2” (2004). For Rodriguez, an avid video game player, the work sustained her until Hollywood offered her another film role. Perhaps not surprisingly, that role came in another video game adaptation, “BloodRayne” (2005). Rodriguez had only a supporting role in the story of a half-human, half-vampire avenger, so she was ultimately not blamed for the movie’s dismal box-office performance and reviews. But without any promising parts being offered her, she did what many movie actors do when their careers are sputtering: TV. Despite any personal shortcomings, her solid work on “Lost” had rekindled the interest of film producers. Rodriguez had wanted to get back to work, but her first audition was for the Los Angeles County Court System. Since the Hawaii incident was a violation of her Los Angeles probation, Rodriquez was sentenced to 60 days in jail, a 30-day alcohol rehabilitation program, and 30 days of community service. Because of overcrowding, she was released from jail the same day she entered it. She used her freedom to take on a role as a World Trade Organization protestor in the film “Battle in Seattle” (2007). A devoted animal rights and environmental activist, it was a movie that showcased Rodriguez’s commitment to humanitarian causes. Her latest film, Battle in Seattle, releases in the U.S. in September 2008 and she recently wrapped filming in New Zealand for James Cameron's sci-fi adventure Avatar, due out December 18, 2009. Rodriguez is currently filming The Fast and the Furious 4 which releases in June 2009 along with the original cast. In November, Rodriguez will begin filming Trópico de Sangre, a film she is co-producing with her production company Cheshire Kat Productions, based on the Dominican Republic's historic Mirabal sisters who were assassinated in 1960 by the Dominican dictator for opposing his rule. In early 2000, Rodriguez broke off a near engagement to a Muslim boyfriend, citing opposition to religious requirements he demanded of her, which included covering herself completely. At one time, Rodriguez dated her The Fast and the Furious co-star, Vin Diesel. In 2006, she "had her eye on" Irish actor and S.W.A.T. co-star, Colin Farrell. In July 2006, Rodriguez told UK's Cosmopolitan magazine that she was not gay, but had "experimented with both sexes". In November of 2006, her openly bisexual Bloodrayne co-star Kristanna Loken's comments to The Advocate were widely interpreted and reported by the media as an admission that the two were in a relationship. Asked about the relationship in April 2007, Kristanna Loken said, "We're great friends. She'll always remain a great, close friend of mine. I'll always love Michelle" In June 2007, Curve ran a cover describing her as a "bad bi girl" and considered by many to be trailing an interview in which Rodriguez would out herself. Rodriguez never did an interview with the magazine however, and therefore in response used her blog to express her feelings on the issue. In the July August 2007 issue of Curve, editors responded to her criticism by stating: "If you read the article, you will see that the author did not, in fact, 'out' Rodriguez; rather, the article stated both that 'Rodriguez has never publicly come out' and 'Rodriguez has said she is not a lesbian." The editors stated that the misunderstanding arose when the Perez Hilton blog posted that she had come out in Curve after seeing her on the cover and assuming it was a coming out story. In early 2007, Rodriguez was seen having dinner with Kylie Minogue's ex Olivier Martinez at Chateau Marmont Hotel. Rodriguez reportedly spent the night at the hotel. The two had been spotted together two years earlier. In March 2002, Rodriguez was arrested for assault after getting into a fight with her roommate. The charges were later dropped after the roommate declined to press the allegations in court. In November 2003, Rodriguez went to court to face eight misdemeanor charges based on two driving incidents including a hit and run and DUI. In June 2004, Rodriguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles to three of the charges: hit and run, drunken driving, and driving with a suspended license. She went to jail for 48 hours, performed community service at the morgues of two New York hospitals, completed a three-month alcohol program, and was placed on probation for three years. In 2005, while filming Lost in Hawaii, Rodriguez was pulled over by Honolulu police multiple times; she was cited for driving 83 mph in a 55 mph zone on Oahu on November 1, and was fined $357, paid a $300 fine for driving 90 mph in a 35 mph zone on October 20, was fined $197 for going 80 mph in a 50 mph zone on August 24. On December 1, 2005, Rodriguez and her Lost co-star, Cynthia Watros were separately pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence. Rodriguez pleaded not guilty when arraigned, but on the day of her trial in April 2006, she pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence. She chose to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail instead of doing 240 hours of community service. Rodriguez cited her high doses of allergy-relieving steroids as part of the reason for her erratic behaviour. The fact that her and Watros' characters were to be discontinued on Lost may have been the reason for the crimes, however Rodriguez and producers said their exit from the show had been planned before the season began and the arrests were just coincidental. Her hiatus from movie roles from 2003 to 2007 also led fans to believe she was being temporarily blacklisted for her legal troubles. Because the Kailua incident was a violation of her Los Angeles probation, Rodriguez was sentenced to 260 days in jail, a 30 day alcohol rehabilitation program and another 30 days of community service, including work for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, by a judge in Los Angeles on May 1, 2006. Because of overcrowding, she was released from jail on the same day she entered it. As of June 2006, she will still have to serve the community service. She wrote about the experience on her blog. In September 2007 however, Rodriguez allegedly violated her probation by not completing her community service and not following an alcohol education program. It was reported that Rodriguez originally submitted a document stating she performed community service on September 5, 2006, but later admitted she was actually in New York City that day. Her lawyer claimed it was a clerical error. On October 10, 2007, following a hearing, she was sentenced to 180 days jail time after agreeing to admit to violating her probation, stemming from her earlier charges. She was expected to spend the full 180-day term in jail, as she had been deemed ineligible for work furloughs and house arrest. On December 23, 2007, she turned herself in to begin the jail term in the Century Regional Detention Facility located in Lynwood, CA. On the evening of January 9, 2008, Rodriguez was released after serving 18 days of her 180 day sentence, due to overcrowding. |
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